Actor Abigail Breslin on staying silent after rape: 'I was in a relationship with my rapist'

Actress, who found fame in 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine, is battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Abigail Breslin said on she was in 'complete shock' and in 'total denial' when the terrifying incident happenedLucy Nicholson/Reuters

Abigail Breslin took to social media on 23 April to explain why she stayed silent after her rape. The Scream Queens star said she did not report the horrifying incident to the concerned authorities because she was in a relationship with her rapist and feared no one would believe her.

The 21-year-old actor said on she was in "complete shock" and in "total denial" when the terrifying incident happened. Also, the former child star did not want to view herself as the "victim" and this led her to pretend that the rape never happened.

"I was in a relationship with my rapist and feared not being believed. I also feared that if my case didn't lead anywhere, he would still find out and hurt me even more," she said.

Breslin further said that she did not report the incident to the police as she did not want to cause hurt to her family and friends.

She opened up about her own experience after someone commented "reported rapes are the only rapes that count" on her previous post, where she spoke out about being sexually abused at the hands of someone she knew well.

"You are not obligated to have sex with someone that you're in a relationship with. Dating is not consent. Marriage is not consent," Breslin had said in her previous post.

Breslin revealed how she had been coping since the incident in another post.

"I have made a lot of progress since the event occurred, but I won't pretend it isn't something I struggle with. I still have flashbacks, I still get nightmares, I still jump when somebody touches me unexpectedly, even if it's my best friend tapping me on the shoulder."

"I was diagnosed with PTSD a year and a half ago," she wrote. "I have made a lot of progress since the event occurred, but I won't pretend it isn't something I struggle with.

"To say that reported rapes are the only rapes that count contributes to the ideology that survivors of unreported rape don't matter. It's unfair, untrue, and unhelpful. It's like if you got a black eye from getting punched in the face, but because you didn't call the police, you didn't really get a black eye. Unreported rapes count. Reported rapes count. End of story."